Our Responsibility & Commitment to Give Back to Our Local Community

At A Vacation Different ‘responsible tourism’ isn’t just a marketing catchphrase or box we tick. It’s at the heart of everything we do, from how we market our homes, to who we employ, to where we grow our business.

Staying with us means you help local economies blossom. How? We purchase locally as much as possible from our printed brochures to our local bookkeeper. We recommend local restaurants, give welcome gifts from local shops, and encourage tours through local small businesses and guides. Simply by doing this, you’re helping to bring more employment and business opportunities to locals in every community we visit.

Local sourcing is a principle across all. We use locally owned infrastructure and work with locally owned businesses to make sure the money you spend on travel is injected back into the local economy, and that profits from tourism go into local hands.

Our recommended tours take guests to shop for local handicrafts, boutique clothing brands, and handmade organic products, all produced by local artisans. As such, we help you to shop in a sustainable way and buy amazing souvenirs while also supporting local entrepreneurs.

We select our local partners carefully and all our tours need to meet sustainability criteria.

We not only aim to show you local culture but to let you experience it first-hand. All our tours provide opportunities for you to interact with local people. Expect that you’ll be learning and practicing some of the local languages and maybe even entering a local home.

We are proud to take the less-traveled routes. When we visit major tourist sites, we offer a twist, so that you can have a more authentic experience of these sites, and locals in less-traveled communities can benefit from the tourism economy.

“Locals know” is our brand promise. We don’t just show you the cultural and natural heritage in our destinations, but also help you to get to know the destination from a local perspective.

WE GIVE BACK

Responsible tourism principles lie at the core of everything we do, from the way we employ people to how we run our tours. But we also go a step further and support local organizations and projects.

Support for special projects

In addition to our ongoing programs, we also get involved ad hoc in projects and events that we believe in. We support projects that promote responsible tourism, sustainable development, green cities, and sustainable living. We’re particularly interested in supporting young professionals and social entrepreneurs. We are very open to donating our knowledge, skills and time to support help your project thrive! If you’d like A Vacation Different to support your initiative or event, get in touch with our Responsible Business Manager at Laura@avacationdifferent.com.